On the Record Jorge Lorenzo

ON THE RECORD JORGE LORENZO

IGNITION

INTERVIEW

Factory Yamaha racer, four-time world champion, smooth as butter

Kevin Cameron

I CAN BE AS FAST AS MARC MARQUEZ, BUT I ALWAYS TRY TO LEAVE A LITTLE BIT OF MARGIN.

In the past, I crashed many times because I didn't know where my limit was. But now that I know my limit, I always try to get close-98 or 99 percent but not 100 percent.

EVERY RIDER HAS A DIFFERENT STYLE, NO? Marquez is very aggressive, and this "aggressivity" can lead to mistakes. But he is also extremely fast.

THE PROBLEM ISTHAT HONDA HAS IMPROVED ITS WEAK POINTS.

In some races in 2009, they dropped the pace so much because the rear tire started to slide too much. They have solved this problem so they can be more competitive. Now, they don't seem to have any weak points.

"WHEN THE HONDAS ACCELERATE, THEY PICK UP VERY QUICKLYSTRAIGHT AND CO. WHEN THEY ACCELERATE, THEY ARE VERY, VERY QUICK."

NORMALLY, THE FRONT TIRE IS WORKING GOOD FOR US.

Sometimes, we need to be aggressive on acceleration to be at temperature for the rear tire. If you are too smooth, it's very difficult to be at temperature. You exit the corner, you don't have grip and are slower, making the tire even colder it's a thing that never ends. Casey Stoner was very good at this. On the throttle, he had confidence. He warmed up the tire very well.

THE HONDAS HAVE THE POSSIBILITY TO PICK UP WHEN THEY ACCELERATE. When we accelerate, our bike is still at an angle; we don't have the possibility to pick up the bike. When the Hondas accelerate, they pick up very quicklystraight and go. When they accelerate, they are very, very quick.

HONDA ALWAYS CONCENTRATES ON THE ENGINE, YAMAHA THE CHASSIS. When Honda wants to improve, they make a more powerful engine. When Yamaha wants to improve, they make a better chassis. For this reason, the Honda engine is always faster than the Yamaha engine.

CIRCUIT OF THE AMERICAS IS A HONDA TRACK BUT NOT BECAUSE IT HAS THE LONGEST STRAIGHT.

For Yamaha, the biggest disadvantage is the tarmac. Honda has confidence like a normal track, but we were very afraid. When the bike entered the corner, we didn't have rear grip. That's why we were so slow. CTU

JL AND MORE

99 + Í 00

Lorenzo scored the 100th podium of his 12-year Grand Prix career at Circuit of The Americas in April. Nearly half of those top-threes have been victories, with most coming in the premier class.

WHO, ME?

In 2005, Lorenzo received a one-race suspension for his last-lap, raceending collision with Alex De Angelis in the 250cc race at Twin Ring Motegi,

POISED TO FINALLY TAKE TITLE?

Dani Pedrosa has thrice finished second overall in the MotoGP World Championship. Will this be his year?